From ignoring the need for marketing to the incorrect use of currently online audits – everything not to-do on e-commerce sites

Setting up an online store is a complicated business, especially if it’s your first store. However, this does not mean that if you are a beginner you have to make beginner’s mistakes. A celebrity states that ‘Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others’, and that is exactly what was done this time: 7 mistakes that my husband explored in online stores again and again and learned how to avoid them.

● Open a Site and the customers will come themselves
Starting a business, building a good reputation and achieving steady traffic to an online store requires time, energy, effort and financial investment. According to Internet live stats, right now there are 1,202,012,086 Internet sites, according to WorldWideWebWise there are 4.44 billion existing pages on the Web. So let’s say that the existing virtual stores are now a total of 1,202,012,087 – how users will find your store? Building a great website with good products will not cause customers to reach. In essence, the store is only on the first step in the building of your business, and the true way begins, in fact, after the launch.

● Setting up a shop without a Logo
The logo is one of the first elements that visitors will be exposed to on the website and has a considerable weight in creating a first impression on them. Many shop owners are afraid to design logos, because they think that this project will cost thousands of dollars. The opposite is true – there are now many options for cheap or totally free logo designs, and there is no reason to invest a lot of money into designing a look that is less than perfect.

● Improper use of audits and visits to social networks
Most of the positive reviews about the products on the website are an excellent tool to increase sales. However, the implementation is missing and at the end this result will do more harm than good to the store. Let’s examine each of these measures more closely

● Outsourcing profile pages without audience
Like the comments, feedback and social networks are used to store an indication of reliability. You can open a profile on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram, but unless you have followers, unless you publish new messages at regular intervals, if nobody answer to your ads / posts – these profiles can cause more harm than well. So what is the solution? Instead of creating profiles for each network, select one and invest in it. Loyal followers will attract new potential followers and increase the awareness that will bring the developing of your page. Efforts focused on the online profile helps you to better understand the profile of your actual and potential customers.

● Mishandling of the website and contact page
Many business owners do not realize the sales potential of a contact page. Google Analytics shows that a short visit to this page of your website can generate more sales and is on the second or third place regarding entries on your site, which means that the page is important for visitors. So what are the worst mistakes that you can make on these pages?

● No story
Who are you exactly? How the store took shape? What is the story behind the products you’ve chosen? No need to create a complicated story, several rows of information from which the visitors will understand all these details can do wonders to improve your conversion rate.

● Lack of information about location
Yes, it’s an online store, but that does not mean visitors will not try to address this information. Many visitors will want to know the details of the location in case they will not receive the products. For some of them it is a matter of trust and for others, who want to pick up the products by themselves for example, it is a relevant issue for the delivery of the purchased goods.

● Using a generic e-mail address
True, Gmail service is great, but it’s not good enough for your business. Think about the message that your customers will receive if your email address is example@gmail.com . Invest in buying your own domain name (yourbrandname.co.il) and creating an email address based on it.

● Not investing into the use of SEO strategy
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization is a complex area that requires a lot of work and investment which can have visible results only after weeks and sometimes months of effort. These changing factors are simply ignored or treated casually by many store owners. This is a mistake. Organic SEO is one of the most powerful tools for bringing quality traffic, day after day, year after year, in contrast to channels such as Facebook or Google Adwords that stop producing traffic and conversions as soon as you stop paying. Can you think of a list of 10 phrases in which you would like to appear on Google? If not, it’s time to start thinking about organic SEO strategy.

● Diversification of attention
Imagine a brain surgeon which performs several operations at once – it will be a disaster. It is really true when we are working on establishing an online store. In this case no one’s life is at stake, but  it is your business’ life. Focusing on too many channels at once uses energy, and rarely produces the desired results. Focus on one task, one marketing channel and with one goal each time, and perform the tasks in the best way possible.

● Do not give chance to Marketing channels
Finally, this is one of the most common mistakes that online store owners do. There are many ways to bring traffic to your website. There are hundreds of marketing channels – but none of them works at the touch of a button. Whether it is organic or sponsored, a promotion on Google, ads on Facebook, Instagram posts or any other channel – it is necessary to invest time, effort and money to see significant results. If you invested 50 dollars on advertising on Facebook and have not seen a return on investment, that does not mean that it is impossible to sell on Facebook. You may need to invest additional resources to find the right audience or you need to change your ad or image to attract visitors. The right way to work with each channel takes time. When you set up a business online, it is important to prioritize and to attack each channel separately. This means that you must select the channels that will work best for your business, and dedicate enough time and money for each channel to make sure that you have given a real chance to bring results.

In short, building an online store is not easy. Ignoring or incorrect handling of small details, apparently described above, may compromise efforts and investment lose. So have patience, analyze and invest in every detail of marketing for success!